"Never let oneself be guided by the opinion of one's contemporaries. Continue steadfastly on one's way."

"Melodic invention is one of the surest signs of a divine gift."

"If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music."

"I was a crazy young man who let himself be blinded by his passions and obeyed only the impulses of the moment."

"Spring won't let me stay in this house any longer! I must get out and breathe the air deeply again."

"Destiny smiles upon me but without making me the least bit happier."

"An operetta is simply a small and gay opera."

"The further the music develops, the more complex the apparatus used by the composer to express his thoughts becomes."

"To judge a composer's work, one must consider it as a whole."

"The call of love sounds very hollow among these immobile rocks."

"I also had a brother who was like me a musician and a composer. A man of great talent, far more gifted than I. He died very young... he killed himself in the prime of his life."

"Behind me the branches of a wasted and sterile existence are cracking."

"With the coming of spring, I am calm again."

"In the theatrical works we love and admire the most, the ending of the drama generally takes place offstage."

"I don't let myself get carried away by my own ideas - I abandon 19 out of 20 of them every day."

"The spirit can assert itself only through the medium of clear form."

"The point is not to take the world's opinion as a guiding star but to go one's way in life and working unerringly, neither depressed by failure nor seduced by applause."

"You must renounce all superficiality, all convention, all vanity and delusion."

"The longer you live and the more you learn, the more clearly you will feel the difference between the few men who are truly great and the mere virtuosi."

"It is strange how one feels drawn forward without knowing at first where one is going."

"All that is not perfect down to the smallest detail is doomed to perish."

"In its beginnings, music was merely chamber music, meant to be listened to in a small space by a small audience."

"A symphony must be like the world. It must contain everything."

"Discipline, work. Work, discipline."

"I live like a Hottentot. I cannot exchange one sensible word with anyone."

"Even if people censure me, they should do so hat in hand."

"I am hitting my head against the walls, but the walls are giving way."

"It's not just a question of conquering a summit previously unknown, but of tracing, step by step, a new pathway to it."

"I beg of you... never assume an inner or an outer pose, never a disguise."

"Beauty and fullness of tone can be achieved by having the whole orchestra play with high clarinets and a carefully selected number of piccolos."

"It is easier to achieve a desired result in short pieces."

"There is a world of difference between a Mahler eighth note and a normal eighth note."

"The impressions of the spriritual experiences gave my future life its form and content."

"The real art of conducting consists in transitions."

"I hope you will no longer accuse me of a lack of delicacy. as I now count on your understanding."